This invention relates in general to over-the-road trucks and more particularly to racks for securing cargo holders on such trucks.
Large over-the-road trucks usually consist of a tractor provided with a so-called fifth wheel, and a trailer, which is coupled to the tractor through the fifth wheel. Most trailers have flat beds, and many have totally enclosed interiors as well. Typically, these enclosed trailers carry cargo which is packaged in boxes. Sometimes not enough cargo exists to completely fill the cargo compartment of an enclosed trailer, and to prevent that cargo from shifting within the partially filled compartment, many operators place so-called cargo holders or stabilizers across the compartments, thereby effectively confining the cargo to a limited region of the compartment.
The typical cargo holder is for all intents and purposes a jack. It has two tubes, one fitted into the other in a telescopic arrangement, and a jacking mechanism to extend the tubes. This may be a ratchet device or a simple rack and pinion arrangement. Each tube at its free end has a pad covered with a high friction material, such as rubber. The operator installs the cargo holder by simply retracting its rods to the extent that the holder is shorter than the width of the cargo compartment. He then places the holder horizontally against the end of the cargo and expands it with the jacking mechanism. The friction pads bear against the walls of the trailer and retain the holder in position, that is extending transversely across the cargo compartment against the cargo. Sometimes a operator may install the holders vertically, expanding them so their pads bear against the bed and roof of the trailer.
Not all loads are so limited as to require cargo holders to stabilize them. Indeed, some completely fill the trailers into which they are placed. The cargo holders then become surplusage which must in some way be accommodated. Some operators simply place the unused cargo holders in the trailer along with the load, if sufficient space exists to accommodate them, and it usually does. But, often the cargo doors at the rear of the trailer are secured with a seal which precludes the operator from gaining access to the cargo compartment, and the presence of such a seal would preclude the operator from storing unused cargo holders in the trailer itself.
Other operators, who operate tractors having extenders projecting beyond the cabs of their tractors to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of their trucks, simply jack the unused cargo holders outwardly between the extenders so that the holder pads bear against the extenders. The holders are thus supported between the extenders much the same as they are supported between the side walls of a trailer when in use. However, the extenders are not as rigid as the trailer walls and may bend under the spreading force of the cargo holders. Moreover, the cargo holders are exposed and thus subject to theft.
The present invention resides in a rack for securing cargo holders on a truck where, when not in use, they will not interfere with the cargo carried by the truck and may be secured against theft.